(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-03-18 09:39

JAKARTA - The Indonesian navy and its Malaysian counterpart  have agreed to increase cooperation in maintaining security in the Malacca Strait, Antara news agency reported on Tuesday.

The agreement was reached during a meeting between Indonesian Navy Chief of Staff Admiral Sumardjono and his Malaysian counterpart Admiral Tan Sri Ramlan Mohamed Ali at the Indonesian Navy's Headquarters in Cilangkap, East Jakarta, on Monday.

"We hope that all forms of cooperation that had been established so far between the two navies would be stepped up in the future," Admiral Mohamed Ali said after the signing of the agreement.

The Malacca strait is one of the world's busiest sea and trade lanes as it links West Asia and East Asia. At least 50,000 cargo ships use the strait every year.

The 800-km-long strait can be sailed through in 12 hours, which is a much shorter period than the 24 hours needed to pass through the Sunda Strait (1,630 km) or the 70 hours required to navigate the Lombok Strait (2,780 km).